Glad to see this game is finally happening! I'd been seeing preview animations for a while, they're seriously some of the most impressive I've seen to date. The game functions startlingly similar to those preview animations, which was awesome to see - it's rather impressive on a technical level.
A lot of others have already commented about difficulty, so I'll try not to repeat them too much here. Really, I think the game handles quite well overall, it just needs some balance adjustments. Enemy spawn rates are the biggest thing I think needs adjusting - the soldier level I'm never able to last more than a minute in due to the crazy number that show up. I think the desert level with the mummy and naga enemies has the best balance of spawn rate - I can usually last indefinitely on that level, but the rest I'll usually be overwhelmed within 5 minutes or less.
As some other people also mentioned, Pherl's attacks only hitting one enemy can be an issue. I think adjusting the spawn rates mostly solves this, but you could also consider giving Pherl a new attack that does hit multiple enemies - I'd just make the attack take even longer to wind up as a trade off. I did something similar with my game where the first two attacks of a combo only hit one enemy, but the third is a kick that's a little slower but hits all enemies in front of the player.
Speaking of windup time, long wind ups for attacks tend to be good for enemies as it gives time for the player to react, but long windup time for player attacks might make them feel sluggish and unresponsive. Of course that doesn't mean they can't be used - Monster Hunter is a game that really likes super long attack windups for players, because the attacks themselves are extremely heavy hitting and weighty. I don't doubt that was what you were going for with Pherl as well, and it's fitting, especially given her extra weight and how enemies go down in one hit - I think it works well for the most part, my biggest issue is that because the range is also so short, enemies can just walk away from it easily even when I start very close. You've got attack speed upgrades in the game which does help alleviate this somewhat, but just a bit more range might still be good. It might be fine as is, but I wanted to bring it up as something to keep in mind as you continue to develop the game, especially when making new attacks for the player.
For future updates, it would be great if Pherl had a way to digest and shrink her belly - it would be nice to be able to fill it up again repeatedly, since I don't think there's a way to shrink it unless you have lost health AND find one of those digestion pills. When I'm playing well, it means I just stay permanently at maximum fullness and don't get to enjoy those other animations of filling up again. On a related note, it would be fun if Pherl got some extra animations - either just idle animations, or maybe an actual action she can do, where she rubs or plays with her belly. Maybe this could be like a taunt move or something?
Some form of range attack would also be nice, but I think I read that you're already working on that. I feel like I remember seeing some of the preview animations showing Pherl spitting bones at enemies, so I wonder if it's going to be that?
One other tweak that would be nice, since Pherl only hits 1 enemy at a time with her attack, it would be nice if it always hit the closest enemy to Pherl. I've had a few times where I've tried to kick a nearby enemy away, and it instead hits one further off just on the very edge of the attack, and I then get hit by the closer enemy.
And one bug I noticed in the latest version, the pause menu doesn't seem to function anymore - I can pause and unpause, but not restart or quit to menu.
Awesome job so far though, super excited to see where this game goes! The art style is very on point, movement handles well, and of course the animations are incredible. Also, LOVE the ability to eat enemies faster by mashing! Feels like the perfect solution - lets me eat fast when I'm surrounded, but also take my time to appreciate the animations when I'm not surrounded.